


Theories

by AuroraShard



Series: FYeah Clint/Nat/Laura Mini Prompt-athon 2020 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, Multi, Polyamory, mentions of past steve/bucky/peggy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23521198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraShard/pseuds/AuroraShard
Summary: For the FYeahClintNatLaura tumblr mini promptathon. “Prompt 1via @paperairplanesopenwindows: Clintnatlaura decide to announce their relationship to the Avengers. The Avengers, not knowing what the announcement is yet, come up with varying and increasingly wild theories.”Clint, Natasha, and Laura call an "all-hands" meeting. While waiting, the team tried to figure out what the meeting is for.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton/Natasha Romanov
Series: FYeah Clint/Nat/Laura Mini Prompt-athon 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689340
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Theories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paperairplanesopenwindows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperairplanesopenwindows/gifts).



> For PaperAirplanesOpenWindows!  
> Prompt can be found on Tumbr at: https://fyeahclintnatlaura.tumblr.com/post/613948805891637248/prompt-masterpost   
> When does this take place? Who knows! After AoU? I guess so, since Sam is there and they know who Laura is. Where are the others? Busy on a mission. (I didn't feel like writing anyone else, and dang it's hard to balance 9,000 people in a scene!).

"Maybe they are moving, and need a hand with moving the big furniture. They did have a lot of solid wood pieces." Steve said from the kitchen counter where he was making a sandwich. "Who better to help you move than a supersoldier and a god, right?" He carefully settled his top piece of bread onto his sandwich, and paused for a moment to admire his handiwork. 

"Psh." Tony snorted from the sofa, where he lounged with his feet resting on the armrest. "Nothing says 'low profile family in Iowa' like having The Avengers help you move." He flicks a paper football at Steve. Steve just rolls his eyes and settles into the armchair by Tony's feet. 

"Maybe they adopted a dog?" He posits between bites of his lunch. "Clint does love dogs. I'm certain he'd want to show it off." 

Sam saunters out of the elevator, snatching a chip from Steve's plate as he heads to the kitchen. He just winks and smiles as Steve glares at him.

"Trying to figure out what the all-hands meeting is about? You know if Clint was getting a dog he would be physically incapable of not texting us photos or updates, right?" Sam calls over his shoulder as he rifles through the fridge. He cheers as he digs out a container of macaroni and cheese, popping it into the microwave to warm. He leans against the counter and snags the chips Steve left out.

"What do you think, Thor?" Sam asks, gesturing to the other man with the chip bag. Thor turns away from the window, hands settling to his hips.

"Perhaps they are throwing a secret party, like Darcy did for Jane that time? That was an enjoyable event. Although I admit I am unsure about Clint or Natasha's birth dates. But it is almost time." He frowns as he glances at the clock.

"I think we need to think bigger." Says Tony as he folds another sheet of paper into a football. Steve bats it out of the air as Tony flicks it at him, and Sam laughs as he pulls his lunch out of the microwave. 

"Oh yeah? What else do you think it could be?" Sam says, and Tony smiles.

"Glad you asked. Oh, Bruce! What if the spy family are aliens? Would we know? We would know, right?" Tony says, gesturing as he spoke. Bruce pauses in the stairwell door, and for a moment it looks as if he wants to turn back the way he came. But he heads into the common room and over to the kitchen.

"I think we would know, Tony. We've done all sorts of medical tests with Clint and Natasha that I'm fairly certain we would know." Bruce sets about making himself a cup of tea, sharing a look with Sam.

"What about not-an-Agent-Barton?" Tony asks. "We've only met her a couple of times. Maybe she is an alien." Thor smiles.

"I would know if any of them were not of this realm. Rest easy, Tony. They are not aliens." Thor says. Tony just rolls his eyes.

"Okay how about… tax evasion? They are all going to prison for not paying taxes as their cover identities." Tony says.

"That's at least plausible." Sam concedes. Tony pumps his fist.

"Maybe it's something mundane." Bruce interjects as he finishes making his tea and starts on a sandwich of his own. "Like, they're starting a fundraiser, or they're doing one of those Tupperware parties. Maybe they're starting a ska band." He says absently. 

"Nobody has hosted a Tupperware party since the 90s." Sam says, glancing over his shoulder at Bruce, who shrugs.

"A ska band?" Tony says, incredulous. Bruce laughs. 

"A party for plastic containers? What do you do? Make snacks to take home?" Steve asks, eyebrows raised. Sam chuckles.

"A host would bring a sales person to their party to sell, like, containers and kitchenware. My neighbors did them sometimes, so mom went once or twice. Although I do want to see a plastic-container focused party now. Maybe like a cookie swap?" Sam mused. 

"Perhaps they are leaving the Avengers?" Thor suggests, turning away from the window to sit on the second couch. He absently starts braiding his hair.

"I guess that would explain why they wanted the team together, but why does Laura need to be here? They haven't seemed discontent." Steve says, moving to load his dishes into the dishwasher. Sam follows suit as he finishes up. 

"Maybe they developed powers." Tony suggests as he fiddles with a hard light projection of an engine. Sam watches him manipulate it for a few moments. 

"Like what, x-ray vision? Fire breath?" Sam teases. "Maybe Clint can turn into a bird. That would be fun." Steve laughs.

"Would be a whole new meaning for his call sign. Can you make comms for birds…?" He trails off.

"Sure, give me a week to learn about... bird ears?" Tony says, the projection stilling as he pauses. 

"Agents Barton, Romanoff, and Mrs. Barton are incoming." F.R.I.D.A.Y says with a soft 'ping' noise.

"Thanks, hun." Tony calls out, saving and minimizing the projection. "Should've taken bets." Tony says as the elevator door opens.

Bruce rounds the counter after Sam to join the others. Clint strides out, flanked by Laura and Natasha.

Laura smiles and waves as she settles between the other two on the couch.

"Hi guys, how are you?" She asks, brushing loose hair behind her ear. “Taking bets?” she follows up with a smirk. 

“Good to see you again, Laura. And no, although Tony wanted to.” Steve smiles. “How are the kids? Can I get you guys anything?” Steve asks as he heads to the kitchen. The three of them laugh, and Clint gives Tony the finger. 

“I’ll take tea, if you have it? Guys?” She says, turning to Clint and Natasha. 

“The same for me.” Clint says, pulling up a photo on his phone. 

“Same.” Says Natasha, stretching to rest her feet on the coffee table. Steve nods and sets to getting three glasses of tea.

“Kids are doing well, Lila is starting softball soon, and it’s all she can talk about. Clint’s got photos of her in her uniform, she looks so proud. Nathaniel is loving his new play group. And throwing pureed carrots everywhere. Cooper joined the robotics team at school, and, no, Tony, they don’t need your help.” Everyone laughs as Tony lowers his hand, visibly deflating. “You could buy some baked goods from their bake sale, but maybe go incognito. If you can?” She teases. Tony looks affronted, placing a hand on his chest. 

“I am wounded, Maid Marian. I’ve been under cover before! These two just put on ball caps and hope for the best.” He says, pointing to Thor and Steve. Steve rolls his eyes as he sets the tea down on the table. “And I’d be happy to buy some baked goods to support your robotics team. Since you won’t let me sponsor them, I presume?” He accepts Clint’s phone as it is passed around, scrolling through photos of Cooper determinately driving a boxy robot on some kind of field, and of Lila in her softball gear. He laughed at the photos of little Nathaniel, covered in smushed carrots and beaming at an equally carrot-covered Clint. 

“How much of the carrots does he actually eat?” Bruce askes with a smile, looking over Tony’s shoulder. “Looks like most of it ends up on you guys.” He passes the phone to Sam, who laughs. Clint groans.

“I think more of it ends up in my hair than in his mouth. I’m surprised my hair isn’t as orange as Nat’s at this point.” He teases and she smiles.

“He eats them just fine for me, you know.” She says, sipping from her glass of tea. Laura nudges her with her foot.

“You just say that because it doesn’t show up in your hair.” She teases. Natasha laughs.

“A spy never reveals their secrets.” She winks, passing the phone to Thor. He looks delighted as he scrolls through the pictures, gently cradling the phone in his palm. 

“Softball is like baseball, correct? With the bats and the balls and the running?” Thor asks, miming the movement of swinging a bat after he hands Clint his phone. Steve nods.

“Bucky’s sisters used to play it with him all the time, it was always a blast to watch. They’d get so competitive. I pitched sometimes when I was feeling alright. Haven’t played it since, come to think of it. I tried baseball a few years back, but never quite got the hang of it. Too used to pitching underhand. Or throwing the shield, I guess.” He muses. Natasha laughs.

“All I can imagine is you stepping up for the opening pitch at a game and just whipping the ball like you do your shield!” She crows. Everyone joins in, and Steve shakes his head.

“The Dodgers asked me to throw a pitch last year. I said I wouldn’t until they came back to Brooklyn. They weren’t too thrilled with that idea, let me tell you.” He says ruefully. 

“You had something you wanted to talk about, right?” Sam says, drawing everyone’s attention. 

“Is everything alright?” Bruce follows-up. Clint, Natasha and Laura exchange a glance. Clint smirks.

“Everything is fine. We just figured it was time to talk to you guys about us. The three of us, we’re all together. We’ve been in a relationship together for a few years now. Laura and I are officially married, mostly due to the legal stuff with regards to the kids. SHIELD has been as accommodating as they can be with that, too. Some folks in legal have definitely fudged some paperwork for us regarding survivor benefits and power of attorney. Before, you guys didn’t know about Laura. We were waiting for a good time to tell you all. In a field like this, you have to be careful, you know?” Clint says, eyes scanning the faces of his teammates.

“It was nothing personal; we trusted all of you. But the identity of a civilian family with ties to an Avenger is a pretty big piece of blackmail. We didn’t want to have to hide anymore, especially now that you know about Laura.” Natasha said, smiling at Laura and giving her hand a squeeze. Laura smiles back.

“I was adamant about making sure you all knew, in the event of anything happening to either Clint or Nat on a mission. Or to me or the kids. If something were to happen to the kids or I, I would like both of them to be notified. In the case of an emergency, we are all emergency contacts for one another. With the Avengers getting more involved, I wanted to make sure that I would be informed.” Laura says, sitting tall next to her partners. Everyone nods. Steve speaks first, straightening in his seat.

“Laura, I will make sure that, if anything happens to Clint or Natasha, you will be the first to know. And vice versa. Thank you for letting us know. If you all want to discuss anything, please let me know. I’m happy to discuss emergency contact procedures and operational security measures. And I guess I should get your phone number, at least.” He finishes with a smile, hand rubbing at the back of his neck as he slumps forward a little. Laura beams.

“I’d be happy to discuss that with you at a later date, thank you.” She says, turning to Tony with an eyebrow raised. “Did you guess correctly?” Tony laughs.

“Absolutely not. I thought maybe you were aliens, or going to prison for tax evasion.” He says with a laugh.

“Feels like we all had a theory. But I’m glad you guys are all happy. Must make it a bit easier to care for the kids, yeah?” Sam asks. Clint nods.

“It does, when we are all home, that is. Since Fury and Maria know, they try to stagger us on missions so that Laura isn’t fending for herself. Not that she couldn’t,” he adds, “Just that it makes it a lot harder, especially with Nathaniel now.” Steve nods, as if committing the information to memory.

“That was going to be my question, who else knows. I assume we should keep this information on a need-to-know basis?” Bruce asks. Natasha nods. 

“Fury and Maria know, as does Phil. I have a suspicion that Pepper figured it out, but we are getting brunch later this week to chat about it. The story goes that dad works with the military, so I help when I can. The story has been working so far. Nobody has questioned them calling me “mama”, so I’ll take it as a win.” She says, a little ruefully. 

“I gather that families such as yours are not commonplace here on Midgard? Do they not see that having more family to care for young children is an advantage?” Thor asks, head cocked to the side. His hands absently run along the leather grip of Mjolnir where it rests on his hip. 

“Sadly, it’s illegal here in the US, and in most of the world as well. Thus all of the legal work. We’ve thought about whether having an Avenger coming out as polyamorous would help the cause, but right now we can’t risk it.” Laura says, shifting to lean into Clint’s side. Thor nods, frowning.

“It’s a shame, that. You have my support either way.” He says.

“Mine as well. This doesn’t change anything for me. Thank you for telling us. Thanks for trusting us.” Says Bruce, and Sam and Tony nod in agreement. 

“And if you need lawyers, you know who to call.” Tony says with an exaggerated wink. Everyone laughs along with him.

“We’ll keep that in mind.” Laura teases. 

“With everything else that’s changed, I’m a bit surprised that that is still not allowed. Peggy and Bucky and I… during the war we had an unspoken agreement to live together once we got out. We… understood each other. And I loved them both. I couldn't imagine living without them." He finishes softly, eyes dropping to his hands. Sam shifts to give him a hug, and Clint reaches out to nudge Steve's foot with his. Steve smiles at them both.

"It feels like just yesterday we were all together. It's a shame that it's still frowned upon. Still, times have changed so much. Imagine the headlines: ‘Captain America- cheater, or something more?’ The tabloids would trip over their own shoes trying to report on it first. Could really give your lawyers and PR team a workout then, Tony." Steve teased. Everyone chuckles, and Bruce shakes his head.

"Oh man, Steve, I think Pepper and Nick would just about keel over if you pulled that!" Steve laughs.

"Oh, that's half the fun. I guess I'll have to do some research. Thanks for letting me know it's still a thing." He says, throwing a wink to the others. Natasha smiles.

"Glad to help, Steve. We're happy to point you towards some resources, if you'd like. And if you ever want to talk, you know where to find us. Now, I think it's time for brownies." Natasha declared, heading to the kitchen. Bruce, Tony, Sam and Thor joined her, and Clint and Laura stop to check in with Steve. He gives them each a soft smile.

"That's the first time I've really talked about that out loud, you know. It takes a lot of courage to be vocal about something like this. Anything you guys need, you let me know. More time off, staggered missions. A babysitter, whatever. It's been a while since I helped mind Bucky's sisters, but I'm sure I could manage." They all laugh.

"Means a lot, Steve. We'll let you know." Clint says, ducking to snag some chocolate chips from the kitchen. Laura rolls her eyes as he scrambles half over the counter to reach them.

"Before I forget, Steve, let's exchange phone numbers."

-

Clint turns the lights off and climbs into bed, settling with his partners in his arms. They all lay together for a few minutes, content.

“I’m glad the team took it well.” Laura said softly. “I’m glad the kids have a larger safety net, too. It was such a relief to tell them that they could talk to the Avengers about all this. I'm glad they all shared how they were feeling, too." Natasha leans over to give her a gentle kiss, and Clint gives her shoulder a squeeze.

"It really is a relief. I checked in with Steve. He said he's doing alright, but it's been a lot to process. He may come by for lunch this week. It'll be nice with the kids at school, I know talking about Peggy or Bucky is really emotional for him. I was thinking of making Phil's debrief scones. He said you guys are welcome to join, too." She shifts so that she could glance at them both as she talks. They both smile.

"I should be free once I finish the cookies for the bake sale. You guys can help taste test the first batch. I'm glad he's reaching out, you know how he can close himself off from his emotions. He said he appreciated the resources I sent, so hopefully that helps, too." Clint presses a kiss to Natasha's shoulder and she sighs, her eyes sliding closed.

"I think it's time for bed now." She says, yawning. Laura chuckles, kissing her forehead.

"I agree. We can talk more tomorrow. Goodnight, guys. Love you."

**Author's Note:**

> So you can add “tupperware parties” to the list of things I didn’t think I’d be researching at midnight! Apparently they are still around. This was a lot of fun to write! Hope y’all enjoy! Dang, writing that many characters in one scene is tricky! Huge kudos to anyone who does. I had to keep reminding myself who was there, haha! 
> 
> While coming up with ideas, I realized that things that were odd for us, i.e., being a super hero, having powers, etc. would be normal to them. So I thought it would be funnier if the “weird scenarios” were just really mundane things by other people’s standards. ;)
> 
> “Phil’s Debrief Scones” are based on the Secret Avengers comic where Phil gave Clint and Nat scones. He gives them coconut pineapple scones, and the AR feature for the issue reveals a recipe for “Mama Coulson’s ‘Lucky’ Scones”. I’ve never made them, but you can find the recipe online if you search for it. 
> 
> Thanks for reading. <3


End file.
